Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-01
THE CROSS TIMBERS.
The Topography and Geology OF the
Gross Timbers and surrounding Re-
giOns in Northern Texas.
.omething bout the Receiving Reservoirs
for the Magnificent Artesian Wells
of the City of Fort Worth. ~

ART. XXXIv.
The Cross Timbers of Texas are two
~ and narrow strips o. forest region be-
.ueen the seth and 99th meridians, extend
NO psralIel to each other from the Indian
TERRITORY southwark to the central por-
+;on Of the state, forming q marked excep-
+ion 10 the usual prairie features of that
corntry. They have been delineated upon
several maps, but most accurately upon
the one accompanying the "report on the
cotton production of the state OF Texas,
NTH a discussion of the agricultural
features of the state" by r. II. Tough
ridge, Ph.D., special agent of the tenth
census. when has been adopted in the
nep illustrating the aTeal distribution of
the geologic formations Of the United
States, published II vol v, Of the annual
REPORTS OF the director Of the United
States Geological Survey.
The traveller in crossing this region Of
Texas from east to west, along the line of
the Texas aud Pacific railroad, views the
Cross TimJers merely as a grateful relief
TO the mOnotony Of the prairies, and sees
little in them worth remembering To
the more careful observer, however, there
sre numerous points of interest bearing
on their topographic and geologic Tels-
lions, some Of which are worthy Of pre-
sentstiOn.
The literature hitherto published on the
subject conveys but vague ideas OF the
real nature Of the Cross Timbers, and
usually ignores the discussion of their
physical features. In fact, they have
always been treated together as one phen-
omenon, and but little intimatiOn has
been made Of the differences existing be
tween them. Neither has much of definite
value been published on the surrounding
region, for which reason it will be neCes-
earv to include it in this discussion.
THE UPPER CROSS TIMBERs.
From their greater altitude and their
position relative to the flow of the rivers,
The more western Of the Cross Timbers,
although geOlOgiCally lower in the series,
IS known as the Upper, in distinction
from the eastern, or Lower. 1t extends
southwark from the Indian Territory,
through the counties of Montague, Wise,
Jack, Parker, Hood, Erath and COmanche,
TO near the Colorado river. Its eastern
border al every point is clearly defined,
the adjoining prairie region Oeing invaria-
bIv much higher in altitude. The western
border Is not so sharply marked, but 1t
approximately comedies with the 9Sth
meridian until near the 32d degree OF lat
i.ude, when it bends to the westward,
losing lis identity by thinning out,
50 that the boundary between the wooded
and prairie region is not always apparent.
The surface soil usually consists Of an eX-
ceedingly fine grained siliCeOus sand,
which is the detritus of the underlying
strata. This sand is utterly unten-
qcious, except when wet, and is readily
bs, IA rrb win
surface so as to effectually conceal the
underlying strata. A small amount Of
red clay from q neighbOring stratum
gives TO the sand, when mixed with it, a
dirt yellow color. Although destitute Of
turf. the surface is covered with q thick
growth OF stunted trees and bushes, con
ssting mainly Of the post oak (QuerCus
Obtuslloba) and the black Jack %. nigra),
ACCOMPANIED bV elms and haCkbeTries,
and many ANNALS and perenniRls that &C
COmmOdste their appearance to the time
of rainfall This fora is nearly constant
throughout the entire extent of the Upper
Cross Timbers, and most of its species
also occur IN the lower member. The
character of the soil, as above described,
is also constant along the eastern edge,
but is varied along the western half of the
timbers bV the presence Of g Crumbling,
fne-pebble cOuglUmeTate.
THE LOWER CROSS TIIBERS.
The Lower Cross Timbers are located
abou fifty miles east of the upper belt,
and extend in 3 direction approximately
parallel to it. They are separated their
entire length by a prairie region, utterly
destitute OF timber. The western margin
of the Lower Cross TimbeTs is clearly
defined, as is the case with the eastern
edge OF tie Upper member; but, instead
of being below the level of the prairie it
is always ct higher altitude. The soil
Of the Lower Cross Timbers, although
also arenaceOus, differs from that of the
Upper in many respects. 1t is ferruginOus
and more fertile, averaging less than
ninety per cent of insOluable silica, while
that of the Upper usually exceeds ninety
seven. The difference in fertility of the
soils produces q varietsI difference in the
fora, the trees aItainiOg much larger pro-
portions and the number of species being
slightly greater. The average width of
the Lower Cross Timbers does not eX-
coed fifteen miles, and they lose their
identity near the BraZOs river, at Waco.
1t is now evident that the resent lanCes
of the two belts Of timber are only OF 8
general character, and on examination
into their geologic relations will show
many more important differences than
those already pointed out.
PREVALENT THEORIES AS TO THE CROSS
FINDERS.
The occurrence of these anomalous
belts of timbered region, extending in
direction at right angles to the streams,
has been productive of manv hypothesis
concerning their origin. Unfortunately,
very few biologists have heretofore visited
the country, and hence most Of these
hypotheses have been based upon COmpil-
stiOn or tradition. Most of them imply
that the srenaceOus soils of the Cross
Timbers have resulted from the sediments
OF post CretaCeOus aqueous channels or
basins, which have been preserved intact
from destructive denudatiOn. These the
cries are partially derived from the rela-
tive position OF the timhers TO the adJa-
cent prsiTies. one of them Is that they
represent arms, or inlets, or the tertiary
sea- theory made plausible Dy the
proximity Of their southern terminl to
the western borders Of the tertiary area,
and the occurrence in one Of the tlmbers
of g mOllusCan fauna. presenting st the
first glance a tertiary facieS. & second
theory is that they Sre the beds Of extinct
lakes, and third, that they represent the
channels of quaternary rivers, the direc-
tiops indicate the former general slope of
the surface of the country. The current
Opipions concerning their geologic age
have been as diverse as those concerning
their origin. DR.. S. 3. Buckley, in his ''tirst
annual report of the agricultural AMI
geological survey of the stste of Texas"
enormously calls the lower member
the supper %. CD in one place, and re-
fers them to the "miocene," and on the
next page he speaks of them both as prob
ably tertiary" Messrs. Blake and
Hitchcock, on their geological map Of the
r-nttoa Stntoc 4 S-EA dnlineatP only the